How do you like your 1911? Plain or a la mode?

This is a discussion on How do you like your 1911? Plain or a la mode? within the Defensive Carry Guns forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; Sometimes, the beavertail grip safety not only prevents hammer bite, but can also help you get a higher grip on the gun.
-JT...

IMHO bigger sights ( for me ) and a set of safetys you can hit ( note i did not say change safetys , just a grip and a thumb you can get on ) is about all that is needed on the 1911a1 to make it a " carry gun " today . Now like many i like my flat msh and long trigger . Heck i like my " coathanger " grip safety too . I just picked up ( a few months ago ) a colt xse and as far as i can tell the only function of the front serrations is to " look cool " and irritate the hell out of my holsters . I already took a file to them to break the edges . Now the whole " bobtail " thing intrests me , and ill either trade into one or have this pistol converted . I could most likely do it myself easily but for the time i have to work on guns and the price that Jess here on the forum quoted me , why would i . If i dont trade into a bobtail to play with soon ( assuming i quit just buying guns ) ill send this one to denver and have jess work it over . So far tho everytime i almost get the $$ he needs to do it saved up i wind up cheating paul to pay peter and put a couple hundred with that money to lay in another gun . I just about had it the other day , but sadly now an affore mentioned buddy is selling his Kahr p45 . I guess i need another handgun rather than having the ideal 1911 .

Make sure you get full value out of today , Do something worthwhile, because what you do today will cost you one day off the rest of your life .
We only begin to understand folks after we stop and think .

Skateboard tape on the front strap and grips that grip back. I haven't needed any other mods on an otherwise plain Springfield Mil Spec. I am, though, playing with the idea of getting the beveled mag well, 'cause I can't see how it can hurt and can see how it can really help.

I am, though, playing with the idea of getting the beveled mag well, 'cause I can't see how it can hurt and can see how it can really help.

Wont hurt at all , as long as you are that secure on the " bumper pads " of your mags , or run mags which the " pad " is the floorplate . Personally i like to " hog out " the frame and that way i can load any mag , plated or not easyer .

Make sure you get full value out of today , Do something worthwhile, because what you do today will cost you one day off the rest of your life .
We only begin to understand folks after we stop and think .

MY SA Champ was just right. I only added a finger groove front strap grip piece to get it just right. I find the Beaver tail/ speed bump grip safety , night sights and thin grips to be excellent for accuracy and comfort.

Does it serve any purpose other than preventing hammer bite? Does it spread recoil over a wider area?Yes to both, the better designed GS lets the pistol sit lower in the hand.

I don't see a need for serrations on the front of the slide. Do they really help?
They do if you "press-check" the chamber vs. Col. Cooper's "pinch-check."

The bump on the grip safety seems unnecessary to me. I've never failed to compress it sufficiently with the standard configuration.
The "bumps" are very beneficial if you grasp the pistol low in the hand in conjunction with the "high-thumb" grip.

The bob tailed butt is probably useful on a concealed carry gun. I wouldn't mind having that, but I wouldn't pay the asking price to have my guns customized in that fashion.
I can take it or leave it, never have noticed a huge benefit in concealed carry (the way I carry anyhow).

My guns have always functioned flawlessly with the standard recoil spring. What does the full length recoil spring guide rod give me?
Full-length guide rods aid extraction and feeding. They extract money from your pocket and feed it into someone else's.

I have never found a need for the extended safety lever or slide stop or oversize mag release. Same with the ambi safety levers.
I've never had an urgent need for them either.

The beveled mag well could be a very handy thing in a tight situation. Although I have trained myself to get along without it, this mod seems like a good idea.
Another of those thing that are nice to have, but not absolutely necessary in my case.

The Aftec extractor is a worthwhile (but expensive $70+$) addition for some 1911 pattern pistols that suffer from constant extraction problems.
Those rare few pistols that seem to never want to extract 100% reliably no matter how carefully the extractor is tuned.

The downside is that it adds two tiny coil springs and another small part but, the plus side is that you can pretty much just leave it in there and it will keep on running like the Energizer Bunny.
It's a PITA to get in there the first couple of times that you try to insert one.
Once you get the hang of it...it's easy though.

It does sometimes require initial simple/minor to a well fit Firing Pin Stop (since the entire extractor pivots slightly on the FP Stop flange.)

Some might consider it to be an answer to a problem that doesn't exsist but, once properly installed it's fairly indestructible AKA hardened/tempered bulletproof tool steel construction.

When I decided to build my ultimate fighting gun, I started with a Springfield GI. The first thing I did was to add decent sights. I then removed the lanyard loop because it smacked my hand when I inserted the mag.

Not satisfied to leave well enough alone, I upgraded to some nicer grips.

The firearm is reliable and accurate, so I think I am done.

Now, if I were building a competition piece, the list would be a bit longer.

4 of 5 of mine have Beavertails, Ambi (extended) Safeties, Night Sights, flat mainspring housings, skeletonized hammers and long triggers.They all came that way. One has a light rail (guess which one has night time bedside duty?). The Wilson Combat (best of my herd) has a checkered front strap which I like a lot.

My 5th is a project gun, an old Colt Series 70. It will get many of the above treatments, not certain how many yet. For sure are Ambi Safety (I'm a lefty, besides, having a fighting pistol you cannot utilize from it's ready condition with either hand seems ridiculous to me) and night sights (certainly worth having on any firearm!).

Probably will have the checkered front strap too. A Bobbed Tail is something I'll think about down the road, but have not felt it nec. so far.

FLG is IMHO, an answer to a non-existant problem (though I used to run one on an old Combat Commander, and at the time I felt I shot better with it there).